Dirty Little Exercises That Will Yield Results!

Bodybuilding is a very scientific sport. Each individual responds differently to different types of training and diet. When a bodybuilder realizes what works for him, that's when he is on the road to success.

Bodybuilding is a very scientific sport. Each individual responds differently to different types of training and diet. When a bodybuilder realizes what works for him, that's when he is on the road to success. In article I will discuss what techniques and exercises have gave me great results. Though they may not work for you, it's can't hurt to try them out.

Rock-Bottom-Squats

The big discussion among bodybuilders is if full squats are bad for the knees. Koreans are my main support for why I think these kinds of squats are not detrimental for your knees. If you have ever been to Korea you will see people by curbs, smoking or whatnot, in a full squat position. Yes, these people are in this position for hours at a time and obviously haven't developed knee problems from this. It is more than people are just too lazy to go past parallel and can't use as much weight as they would doing Half-Squats.

Now to go over the benefits full squats have. Tom Platz always said that "Half-Squats will give you half-legs", and I totally agree with him. You can always find that one guy putting thousands of pounds on the Leg Press machine (what pro's work with) and not even bring his legs down to a half-squat position. Then they wonder why in six months of doing the same thing, they haven't see and improvements in strength or muscle mass. I guess it's not obvious to them that the bodybuilders with freaky leg development (Tom Platz, Branch Warren, Dorian Yates) all go below parallel on leg exercises. They realized that going through a full range of motion would stimulate more muscles in the legs and to a certain point, more muscle fibers.

Another issue is that full squats will make your ass big. Though full squats do utilize the glutes more than half squats, you will not develop an ass like a power-lifter. A reason why Power-Lifters get this way because of the extremely wide stance they use to do squats. Bodybuilding squats, which are with your feet much closer together, will hit the quads better than 'power-squats' and put less emphasis on the glutes. The major problem that most people have is that they're hip flexibility is not good enough to get below parallel with that close of a stance. Then what tends to happen is the heels come off the ground and put a lot more stress on the knees. This is probably where the myth that full squats cause knee problems came from.

Power Cleans

Though deadifts have recently caught on for their great benefits, Power Cleans has been left out. This exercise in my opinion, gives more benefits than deadlifts. The first is that you develop more hip flexibility. Specifically, by starting from the ground, you 'jump under' the bar and front squat the weight up. As time goes by and you focus on getting lower and lower so you can do more weight and do less work you develop awesome hip flexibility. I have benefited from this because of how much Power Cleans were emphasized as part of my football weight training. After perfecting our form, our coaches had us do these ever day. Though it wasn't the best idea recovery-wise, it gave everyone on the team the hip flexibility needed in football. Now, I know this doesn't apply to bodybuilders but remember what I said about the benefits of full bodybuilding squats? Yep, I can thank Power Cleans for giving me the crazy hip flexibility to go rock bottom on all leg exercises, including Hack Squats.

Power Cleans also develop your Rhomboids and Trapeziums muscles. Every time you clean the bar to your shoulder, you are basically doing a shrug. By doing this movement often, you are almost guaranteed bigger Traps and Rhomboids muscles that deadlifts can imitate but not duplicate.

When doing Power Cleans, I recommend sticking to five reps because other than the fact that this exercise takes twice the effort than Squats because it works the whole body, it is mainly for strength.

Super 21's

Arnold used this method in the 70's because of the pump he got from them and the results produced. Super 21's are a very good bicep exercise that will save you time. Since you are doing 21 reps per set, only 3 sets are really needed for your whole bicep workout. A good way to make sure you are hitting the whole bicep is to do one set of normal grip, reverse grip and close grip 21's. One method rarely used is a Super 21 set of leg extension or leg curls. The burning pain of these exercises is so intense that you can't imagine it until you try it!

Dennis James wrote an article in FLEX after the 2001 Night Of Champions about his quest for quad size from putting front Squats in place of regular Squats. This exercise, like many, wasn't really taken seriously until a pro recommends it. After reading his article I decided to give front squats a try. Its definatly takes some time to get use to, and going above 225 can hurt your shoulders without a pad. I like though, how most of the stress is placed on the quads and taken off the glutes and especially the lower back. For tall people, even if able to go parallel, have sore backs after squats because of the forward lean needed to do them, and front squats can be a godsend.

As you might have noticed, most of the exercises I have talked about are damn hard but give the best results. This fact supports the fact that not everyone can be a pro bodybuilder. Dorian Yates said your workouts have to be "Blood and Guts" and Arnold always said you need to have the "Want Power" to do the lifts that give you the best results, even if they are they burn like hell or are not as ego-centered as bench press. The take home message is that if the exercise is hard, then it probably should be a regular lift in your routine

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